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WebsiteAlive, a Houston-based online communications firm best known for its AliveChat online chat product, sponsored a team of triathletes for the 2014 Ironman Texas, held May 17, in The Woodlands, Texas. The team was raising money to fund research into RSV, a respiratory disease that kills newborns.

Houston, Texas (PRWEB)May 23, 2014

On May 17, a team of five athletes from the Houston gym NonameFit competed in Ironman Texas, an endurance triathlon in The Woodlands, Texas, consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a marathon.

Team members Carlos Herrera, Rachel Miller, Eric Yu, Kevin Chang, and Casey Leung raced to benefit Love for Griffin, a campaign to raise medical research funds for the New Orleans Children’s Hospital. Love for Griffin is named in memory of Griffin Francis-James Everman, a baby boy born prematurely to a cousin of team member Rachel Miller. Griffin’s lungs were underdeveloped at birth. He caught a virus called Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and was unable to fight it off. He died in January 2014, only a month old.

RSV is a common lung infection that can be life-threatening in premature infants, newborns, and people with compromised immune systems. Griffin’s family set up Love for Griffin to take donations for RSV research, so that the New Orleans Children’s Hospital can learn more about the virus and prevent more children from dying of it.

WebsiteAlive, an industry-leading online communications firm based in Houston, sponsored the NonameFit team. NonameFit is a WebsiteAlive customer, and the co-founders of the two companies, WebsiteAlive’s Dustin Yu and NonameFit’s Eric Yu, are brothers.

WebsiteAlive’s vice president of sales and business development, Bryan Apgar, also completed this year’s Ironman Texas, finishing with a personal record of 10 hours and 18 minutes, putting him eighth in his age group. An avid and accomplished triathlete, he offers insight into the team’s experience.

“It was very windy,” he says. “It was not as humid as last year, but the UV index was a lot higher, so you could just feel the sun baking you. The energy and spectators were absolutely amazing. The run portion was three times around a loop course, so there were spectators all over, which definitely made it a lot more enjoyable. They were yelling for us the entire time!”

Every member of the NonameFit team completed the Ironman. Eric Yu posted a personal record of 13 hours and 10 minutes, cutting 39 minutes off his previous time. Leung, Miller, and Herrera all finished together, and Chang trailed them by only ten minutes.

“They were just ecstatic once they were finishing their third loop,” Yu says. “They knew they were going to be Ironmen. Big smiles all around.”

But an even greater reward was the knowledge that the team had raised $2500 for Love for Griffin. And the team isn’t done raising cash for this cause, which is extremely close to their hearts. They’ll still be asking for donations at their post-Ironman celebrations. They also encourage individuals and organizations that would like to donate to visit http://loveforgriffin.wordpress.com. All funds collected will go to RSV research at the New Orleans Children’s Hospital.

About WebsiteAlive

Since 2007, WebsiteAlive (http://www.websitealive.com) has been the fastest-growing company in the online communication space. Its feature-rich, industry-leading, and award-winning live chat and click-to-call solutions, AliveChat and AliveDial, help companies worldwide meet and greet website visitors, answer questions, increase leads, and close sales.